Tom Corson-Knowles started his first business at the age of 13. I’ll let that sink in for a bit, while you think about what you were doing at age 13. I think I was probably playing my NES…anyway, while we can’t all be so committed at such an early age, we can learn from Tom’s many years of experience in the self-publishing world by listening to this week’s episode!

Some highlights:

At around 2.20 Tom explains how he got started in business with his dad.

At around 6.00 he graduates from working with dad to selling his own books, almost by accident at first.

At around 9.00: “a book is the only marketing tool that will actually pay you at the same time as being marketing for your other products.”

At around 10.00 Tom explains why the publishing world can never truly be a saturated marketplace, no matter how many people are able to get their work out there these days.

This week’s guest is a guy who speaks right to my heart – it’s Bob Burg, author of The Go-Giver. Bob is a strong believer in the principle that giving is just as important as getting – and even more than that, giving freely to others actually helps you get more back in return! That’s exactly what I’ve been saying for years, so obviously Bob and I are on the same wavelength, and he was a natural choice to invite on the show.

Some highlights include:

At around 2.00 – “we’re told that we need to watch out for ourselves or other people will take advantage of us; that the world is a pie, and if we want a bigger slice we have to take someone else’s. In reality, if you want more pie, bake a bigger pie.”

At around 6.00, Bob explains that people won’t buy from you because you’re a jerk or not, they buy from you because they believe that it will make them better off than if they don’t.

At around 10.50, Bob discusses another of my favourite themes – the need to take action immediately when you learn something new to turn it into a habit. Creating positive habits is so important!

At around 16.10, Bob explains that giving doesn’t have to mean losing money – you can give away info, contacts, education, time, and all of these things have a value to someone else.

The second part of my Hardcore MBA seminar series is on a topic very near to my heart – gadgets, software, and technology. If you’re reading this, you probably know that I’m all about finding ways to save your time and leverage other people’s, and there’s no better way to do this than using carefully chosen software. The right piece of software can turn a daunting, time-consuming task into something that barely requires a first thought, let alone a second one!

In this week’s seminar podcast, you’ll find out:

Why you should make your website as simple as possible.

The importance of using software to measure everything – you can’t manage what you don’t measure!

Why I keep my smart phone on silent and try not to have it packed full of apps.

And the gadgets I carry with me everywhere for optimum work and health.

This week’s seminar is super simple to follow, but everyone will be able to take away at least one great tip from it – and even if you only find one useful new piece of software from this podcast, think about how much time it will save you over the course of your life. That’s got to be worth 45 minutes of your listening time.

To make things even easier for you, here’s a list of links to all the software and gadgets I mention in the podcast: